[Commentary] On April 3, the Joint Defense and Joint Control Mechanism of the State Council held a press conference to introduce the situation of increasing the size of local government special debt and strengthening inclusive financial support for small, medium and micro enterprises. At the meeting, Vice Governor Liu Guoqiang of the People's Bank of China introduced that in the face of the significant impact of the new crown epidemic on small and medium-sized enterprises, the central bank has adopted measures to maintain reasonable and sufficient liquidity, provide precise support for re-loan and discount, and have achieved remarkable results.

【Same period】 Liu Guoqiang, Vice President of the People's Bank of China

At the beginning of the year (early 2020), on the basis of a full-scale reduction of 0.5 percentage points and the release of 800 billion yuan, we released a further 550 billion yuan of long-term funds for the purpose of distributing inclusive areas in March. loan. Set up a special refinancing of 300 billion yuan for epidemic prevention, and more than half of it goes to small, medium and micro enterprises. We have also added a new refinancing rebate amount of RMB 500 billion, lowered the interest rate for small and medium-sized refinancing loans for agriculture and agriculture, and reduced the original 2.75% to 2.5%. We used low-cost inclusive funds to support the resumption of production of small and medium-sized enterprises in key areas Resume work. The effectiveness of these measures currently appears to be significant.

[Explanation] Liu Guoqiang said that in the next stage, the central bank will further strengthen inclusive financial support for small, medium and micro enterprises, and put the support for the recovery of the real economy in a more prominent position.

【Same period】 Liu Guoqiang, Vice President of the People's Bank of China

Increase the refinancing and rediscount lines for small and medium-sized banks by 1 trillion yuan. We will further implement targeted reductions to small and medium-sized banks, support small and medium-sized banks to better focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, increase credit supply, reduce financing costs, and serve the real economy. Supporting financial institutions to issue 300 billion yuan of small and micro-financial bonds will help to further increase the financial sources of financial institutions, broaden the diversified low-cost financing channels of enterprises, and improve the level of financial services. That is, stable monetary policy pays more attention to flexibility and appropriateness, and puts support for the recovery of the real economy in a more prominent position.

[Explanation] Liu Guoqiang said that the epidemic has caused a great impact on the world economy, but at present it has not exceeded the 2008 financial crisis, and the impact on the Chinese economy is temporary. He emphasized that there will never be a "money shortage" in the market.

【Same period】 Liu Guoqiang, Vice President of the People's Bank of China

Regarding the world economy, my answer is that the impact will be great, but how big is it and when will it improve? This is still full of uncertainty. I think the impact of the epidemic on China's economy is temporary. China's economy will continue to show extreme resilience. In addition, we have abundant tools and ample policy space to stabilize economic growth. Now it may be necessary to enter a whole industrial chain for resumption of production and production, and the entire economy will move. Therefore, it is necessary to grasp according to different stages, maintain reasonable and sufficient liquidity, and fully meet the needs of the market. That is to say, we will never let the market "money shortage", of course, money should not "grow."

[Commentary] At the meeting, a reporter asked whether the benchmark interest rate for deposits would be lowered? In response, Liu Guoqiang also responded.

【Same period】 Liu Guoqiang, Vice President of the People's Bank of China

As for the deposit interest rate, it is a "ballast stone" in the interest rate system. Of course, it can be used as a tool, but this tool is special, it is a "ballast stone", so it needs to be considered more in practice. In particular, the deposit interest rate is more directly related to ordinary people. If you let it have a negative interest rate, you should fully evaluate and consider the feelings of ordinary people.

Lang Jiahui reports from Beijing

Responsible editor: [Luo Pan]